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A traditional drink of India and East Asia, chai has become a popular beverage across the world. You can always make it with Chai tea bags from your local grocery store, but you’ll get a more authentic flavor if you make it yourself. This simple, rich tea is the perfect warm drink for a chilly day!

Steps

Method1

Simple Masala Chai Tea

1

Crush your desired spices until they’re a fine powder. The exact mix of spices you use in your chai tea is up to you, but most mixes include about 8 cardamom seeds, 8 cloves, and 4 black peppercorns. You can also include additions like allspice, fennel, and nutmeg, if you want. Place your spices in a Ziploc bag and crush them into a fine powder, using a heavy spoon or skillet.[1]

You can use ground spices from the store, but the tea typically tastes better with fresh spices that you grind yourself.

Experiment with your mix of spices until you develop your own preferred flavor.

Did you know? “Chai” just means “tea.” What most people call chai tea is actually masala chai, a spiced, sweetened black tea with milk.

2

Place the spices, cinnamon sticks, and ginger in a saucepan. Pour your ground spices into a medium saucepan on the stove. Add 2 cinnamon sticks and an 11 in (28 cm) piece of ginger, sliced. Keep the cinnamon sticks whole.[2]

You’ll strain out these larger spices before you drink, but they’ll help add a strong, delicious flavor to your tea.

3

Pour in the water and milk and bring the mix to a boil. Add 2 cups (473 mL) of whole milk and 2 cups (473 mL) of water to the saucepan and let the mixture come up to a boil. Use a medium setting on the stove.[3]

You can stir the mixture around a bit to distribute the spices, but leave it alone for the most part.

4

Add 4 tea bags and let it steep for 10 minutes. Once the mixture hits a boil, remove it from the heat. Set in your black tea bags and your tea steep for about 10 minutes, letting the tea come to a deep, pinkish-tan color. Stir it occasionally to keep the spices from settling too much.[4]

5

Strain the tea into cups and add sugar to serve. Use a sieve to strain your tea into mugs. Add a few spoonfuls of sugar to each cup, to taste. Traditional masala chai is very sweet, almost like hot chocolate, but you can add as much or as little sugar as you want.[5]

Method2

Chai Mix and Variations

1

Combine your ingredients in a bowl. If you don’t want your masala chai right now, you can make your own spice mix to save and use at any time. Load your desired spices into a large bowl and mix them with 1 ½ - 2 cups (300-400g g) of sugar, 1 ½ cups (187 g) of unsweetened instant tea, 1 cup (125 g) of nonfat dry milk powder, 1 cup (125 g) of powdered nondairy creamer, and 1 cup (125 g) of French vanilla-flavored powdered nondairy creamer..[6]

Store the mix in an airtight container until you’re ready to drink it. Your chai mix is good to use for up to 6 months. Keep it in your pantry in an airtight container, like a jar or a Ziploc bag, for maximum freshness.[7]

3

Add cocoa and dry milk powder for a chocolate chai. Mix unsweetened cocoa and dry milk powder into your masala chai mixture for a sweet, chocolatey version of the drink. Simply pour it into the same bowl and mix well.[8]

4

Mix in white chocolate for a white chocolate variation. If you prefer white chocolate to classic, finely chop a few bars of premium white chocolate, like Ghirardelli or Lindt. Then, mix it with 1 cup of the chai tea mix.[9]

You won’t be able to store the white chocolate for long, so it’s best to add it to your mix right before you’re ready to serve.

5

Serve with hot milk or water for a classic tea. When you’re ready to serve your tea, mix 2 spoonfuls into a mug of hot milk or boiling water. Stir well and enjoy![10]

Milk will give you a richer taste, while water will be a bit lighter and less filling.

Chocolate chai will taste best with milk.

6

Blend the mix with milk and vanilla ice cream for a chai shake. For a cool, satisfying take on the typical chai taste, make a shake instead of tea! Take ¼ cup of mixture and blend it with 1 cup (236 mL) of milk and 3 ½ cups (525 g) of vanilla ice cream in a blender, until it’s thick and smooth.[11]

To make chai tea, start by crushing cardamom seeds, cloves, and black peppercorns into a fine powder in a sealable plastic bag. Then, add the powder to a saucepan, as well as some cinnamon sticks, ginger, water, and milk. Next, bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Once it starts boiling, add 4 black tea bags and let them steep for 10 minutes. Finally, strain the tea through a sieve into cups and serve. To learn how to make delicious chai tea variations, scroll down!

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Mistie Partin

Dec 23, 2017

"I enjoyed the added spice ideas and the tea trivia from around the world! As a non-coffee drinker, hot tea is something of a go-to comfort for me. As a lifelong resident of scalding hot south Louisiana, iced tea is more often a salvation! Hail, tea!"..." more